A brilliant slow burn romance that goes from hating to loving. You know they will get together but the journey they take was a delight to read. I loved the characters and the storyline was such fun! I was so engrossed with the main characters I didnt want it to end. Loved it.

Sassy second-chances enemies-to-lovers romance set in the world of (anti-)dating apps!

I love a good rom-com, but I can rarely find a modern, hello-we're-in-the-digital-age kind of rom-coms. Yes, it's nice to read about hot people meeting of fancy vacations or bus stops, but ain't nobody talking to strangers IRL these days! Luckily, Make Up Break Up came to the rescue of this genre.

This novel is brilliant, super sassy and full of misunderstandings and romance. The two main characters both work in the tech industry.
Annika's app called Make Up is meant to heal broken relationships.
Hudson's app called Break Up is meant to heal yourself after broken relationships.
The issue is... they are enemies! After a week-long romantic vacay in Vegas, someone's heart was broken and business idea stolen...

So when Hudson's company moves to the same office building as Annika's, some juicy drama is bound to happen. One thousand times yes to a well-written, funny and fast-paced romance novel like this.

*Thank you to the Publisher for a free advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

With hate-to-love contemporary romance books, I'm always wary that one or both of the main characters will just end up coming off as irredeemable assholes. This is especially a concern if we are only given one character's point of view. At first, I thought this book was going to fall into that trap with regards to Hudson's character, but as the story continued, the author made me believe that Hudson wasn't an asshole, which made the book far more enjoyable. I would say that the characters' backstories (especially Hudson's) seemed somewhat barebones to me, but honestly, I didn't really care because I was reading this book as a complete escape. The author did a great job of conveying Annika's passion for her company, but to be honest I didn't really care about most of the start-up stuff (it seems I tend not to care about stuff outside the main romance when I read romance). The ending didn't convince me, although I understood why the book had to end the way it did. This book was the fluffy escape I needed during a busy week, and I would recommend this as an entertaining, easy-to=consume romance read that (probably) won't make you want to throw the book across the room.

Thank you to @stmartinspress and @netgalley for the eARC of Make Up Break Up by Lily Menon. This was a fun read. Annika has a romantic encounter with Hudson; but that's in the past. Currently, Annika has developed an app Make Up to help couples reunite. She is running her business but soon finds out that she is close to losing it all. The company is in debt. Could things get any worse? Actually, yes........Hudson moves in to the same office building. Hudson has launched an app Break Up to help couples break up. Surely, he stole this idea from Annika?????? When Annika discovers that Hudson is running his business from the same building she is livid.. She can't stand the sight of him......or can she? Annika can't stop thinking about Hudson. What does this all mean.? Soon, both Annika and Hudson have a change to pitch their apps to a company. If Annika wins, Make Up can stay in business. She is determined to win the pitch. So, how does this all play out? Who will win the pitch? And will Annika give in to her desires?

I really enjoyed this book. It's fun, it's interesting, and it's realistic. It was just the right length and wasn't too drawn out! I'm giving it 4 stars. If you are a fan of Rom Coms, Make Up Break Up is for you! This one releases on Feb. 2, 2021!

I was drawn to this book because I love a good rom-com! I had no idea it was Lily Menon's first venture out of YA - I definitely need to check out her other books. I did fall in love with all of the characters but I wanted more to the story. Annika and Hudson's rivalry was perfectly approached and often cringeworthy in the best way! I wanted more background on how they met and the ending felt rushed so I would have loved an epilogue. It was a fun, quick read and I would recommend it to friends!

When I first hear that one of my favorite YA authors was breaking into the Contemporary Romance genre, I got so excited! To say I've been (impatiently) waiting for this book is an understatement. When NetGalley reopened the option to read the ARC for this book, I jumped at the chance!
Make Up Break Up is a romance between two people who shared an incredible week together at a tech retreat. Their chemistry is undeniable during that week they shared, but neither one takes the initiative to see where things go once they both return to reality in Los Angeles and they lose touch.
The next thing the heroine, Annika, knows, the man she left behind, Hudson Craft is a millionaire playboy with a booming business that is an exact opposite of her up-and-coming business. Her still-under-development app.named Make Up is meant to give couples a second chance at love. Hudson's, on the other hand, helps take the hassle out of ending relationships and is aptly named Break Up.
After allegedly taking her idea and flipping it on its head, it's no surprise that Annika can't even stand to read articles about Hudson in the magazines he seems to own front page property in. Then to make matters worse, he takes the vacant office just across the hall to serve as headquarters for his thriving business.
This enemies-to-lovers story is packed full of angst and true, heartfelt moments. Lily Menon's first Contemporary Romance novel certainly did not disappoint.

The enemy to lovers trope has always been a favorite and Make Up Break Up took that love and amped it up by about 1000. The tension between these two was so deliciously sweet. In fact at times it was heart pounding make you want to fan your face hot. The pages were burning with what you could feel between these two and the more they battled it out, the hotter it got.

And while I loved these two together and all that delicious sexual tension, there were things about this that didn't quite sit right with me. I'm all for making sacrifices for those we love but some of the pre-judgments and all that the hero had to sacrifice felt wrong sometimes. I know if the roles had been reversed, there would be tons of people crying out about women being strong and not letting men push them around and give up their dreams, etc., etc,. so yes, at times, I didn't absolutely love this and some of the messages it portrayed.

But overall, this really was a cute love story with a trope that a lot of us love and a lot of us will really enjoy.

Make Up Break Up is a cute read. The story is about two competing CEO's of completely opposite tech start up companies and their evolving relationship. Annika is a believer in love and her company is all about getting people together while Hudson is the head of a company which breaks up with significant others for their clients. The attraction between the two characters is undeniable but I felt that some of their interactions were shallow. I would love for them to have spent more time together and to have read more about their thoughts and developing feelings. Despite this, I did like the characters overall and would definitely read a spin off about June and Ziggy if there were one.

I like the way the story is written. It is intelligent and interesting. The love interest's relationships were well written and not sappy as they can be in some rom com books. Annika is a smart character, and I liked reading about the business she was creating and some of her trials and successes with her business. I also liked the relationship with her father and her pluck toward the end of the book.

Overall I would recommend this book for someone who wants an easier rom com read.

* I received an eARC from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Make Up Break Up is a contemporary, diverse, enemies to lovers romcom.

This had some really cute moments (mariachi band!) but the main characters spent a lot of time doing mean things to each other. I'm all for the snarky banter or even some light pranks but doing things like deliberately sabotaging a presentation when you supposedly care about someone is just cruel. So I had a difficult time cheering them on as a couple.

I cheered harder for Ani's best friend June and Hudson's coworker Ziggy.

No spoilers but the ending felt really contrived.

I LOVED THIS BOOK!!! One the best romcoms I’ve read in awhile. This is just what I have been looking for!! I was laughing, tearing up, shaking my head, etc. ALL OF THE EMOTIONS!! The angst and chemistry between the two main characters was on fire. Phew! I was so sad when I flipped the last page, I wanted more! Everyone this is a must read!!

Thank you Netgalley for this auto approval for librarians!

If I'm being honest, I thought this one was just average. I love Lily Menon and was really looking forward to her first adult romance, because I have adored every YA she's ever put out. But...I think this one lacked the mature tone she was going for and the leads lacked chemistry. I wasn't a fan of a last act crisis that happened, because it felt like the characters could have reached their emotional conclusions without it and it felt unnecessary. There were really cute moments and I think it was really worth a read, but perhaps not an all time favorite romance. Regardless, I'm looking forward to Menon's future novels and she's always an author I'll pick up.

4.5 stars

*I was provided an ARC in exchange for an honest review*

I was so excited to pick up this book. I have enjoyed Menon's YA work and was looking forward to an adult romance since they are my new love. I really enjoyed the story and the characters. I think there was tension between them that was well done. Hudson gives me Christian Grey vibes in the CEO sense, but he also has boyish, fun vibes.

I do wish that the ending was a little more extended. I think an additional chapter or an epilogue would have worked really well. The resolution was happening in the final chapter, so I wish it was just a chapter or two longer for some more wrap up. For this reason, I bumped it down a half star.

I'm hoping we can have a book that follows June's story, even a novella to see how her story is going.

I'm very excited to see what Lily Menon does next.

I had a hard time visualizing the characters and development. There were two grammatical errors within the middle of the book. The plot itself seemed very predictable and a little hallmarky.

I wanted to love this book. And I almost succeeded.
Annika & Hudson are a case of lovers to enemies to lovers, having met in Vegas and having a fling previously. The enemies portion was most definitely that. Each character was out to get the other, with very little remorse in respect to their actions.
When we got to the lovers portion, they had already been so rotten to one another that it was hard for me to reconcile that this was the relationship they needed to be in.
I didn’t particularly have any warm fuzzy feelings for either MC, and it was a bit difficult to connect with them.

"Make Up Break Up," by Lily Menon, is all about the love/hate relationship between Hudson and Annika. These two have past history and sparks start flying when they meet up a year later as business rivals. I enjoyed the chemistry between the two of them, and I always like books that follow the "enemies to lovers" trope. This was a really cute book and I really enjoyed it!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

*My typical caveat that the opinions expressed above about purchase are based on my running a high school library.

Hmmm...this book. Well, while it was fairly predictable and I resisted the temptation to be sucked into its tropes, I did find myself rooting for Ani and Hudson in the end. If only because I preferred that to the business side of the story. Actually, truth be told, the story I was really rooting for was June and Ziggy. They are both way more compelling characters than either of the MCs. And Ani’s dad. He is, at least, very true to life. Him I enjoyed. I guess I just didn’t really feel much for Ani ultimately. I found her sort of meh. Which is weird, as I don’t remember ever feeling that about Menon’s YA characters. Sigh.

I have mixed feelings here because on one hand, I really enjoyed the premise and the idea of it! But I had a bit of a hard time connecting, and I think it might be the writing style and the lack of a strong enough emotional connection with the main character. She's clearly a hard worker, running her own business, and the stakes are quite high, but I needed more from her. I wanted a stronger delve into her past and her time spent with the love interest, because when we meet him, i didn't quite feel that tension.

That being said, I truly think this book will do well, and I think I might even enjoy it more on audio.

I do intend to return to give this a reread though!

*𝘈𝘙𝘊 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘷𝘪𝘢 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸

I thought it looked so adorable and normally I love rivals-to-lovers, no matter how cheesy they are. This one lacked for me.
My biggest problem with it overall was the main character Annika. She was judgmental and although she did grow and learn by the time the book ended, and I appreciated it, It was too late in the book for me to warm up to her unfortunately.
Hudson wasn't a bad character either, although I felt like he was very two dimensional and I couldn't connect to his character.
The romance also didn't really have that much essence or growth whatsoever, and I didn't really feel anything for them as the story progressed.
I did liked the secondary characters and their relationships.
Overall, I liked some parts and I feel like this could've been much better, there were just way too many things that bothered me for me to end up fully enjoying it unfortunately.

This was an adorable rom-com. I loved the start-up world setting (I know a lot of people who work in tech) and the idea of two opposing apps. The ideas for both are actually brilliant and it would be so cool if something like Make Up actually existed. I appreciated the fact that Ani and June were both incredibly capable, competent women whose focus on work didn't take away from their existence as whole characters. Hudson was fun to read about, but I wish we'd gotten to his layers earlier in the book. There was enough emotional heft to get me really invested in Ani's story and success. Overall, a cute, sweet read that was tons of fun.

Annika Dev , creator and CEO of the Make Up app, is a firm believer in love, romance, and fairy-tale endings. With the app, she hopes to make a positive difference in the world by giving people a second chance at love, hopefully helping them find their happily ever afters. Hudson Craft is (seemingly) her polar opposite: flashy, shallow, and detached. His app, Break Up, is used for quick, impersonal breakups. When Hudson moves into the office next door, the tension between the two of them ramps up–in more ways than one.

Romance novel and romcoms can be wildly hit or miss for me. Initially, I was slow to get into the story and worried that this would, unfortunately, be another miss. After the first chapter or two, though, I quickly became invested in Annika's story. I found the rivals to lovers trope to be well done, with a delicious (and often amusing) amount of tension between the two characters. At the same time, the romance developed at a decent pace, and I liked that we were able to get to know both characters better over the course of the story. Some romance novels are too surface-level and don't provide enough to get me to really root for the characters as a couple. Not so for this book!

In addition to the romance plot, I loved Annika's friendship with June. Of course, I appreciated them as strong, female characters with drive, passion, and dedication when it came to their career goals, but their supportive friendship also added to my enjoyment of the book. On top of that, I really appreciated how the novel explored more serious topics, like grief, self-perception, and the dynamic between Annika and her father. Overall, this was such a joyful, fun, and cute book. I did think the ending felt a bit abrupt, but it was a satisfying conclusion to a sugary-sweet read nonetheless.

Many thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review!